What's In A Name?
by joeysgirl4eva
Summary: Seth and Ryan go to a party. Seth tries to protect Summer against a jock. Unrequited SethSummer Small spoilers for 'The Outsider'.


What's In A Name?

_AN: This fic is dedicated to my dear friend, _**Supernaturalgeek**. _I hope you enjoy it, sweetie_. :)

"No. I'm not going, Seth. It's another pointless party. Why don't we just hangout here tonight, huh?" Ryan Atwood asked his best friend Seth Cohen, waving his arms around for emphasis. Seth sighed heavily, running a hand over his face.

"Come on, Ryan. It'll do you good to get out of the house or uh, _pool_ house for a while. Get your mind off of Marissa?" he practically pleaded, staring at Ryan hopefully.

It was Ryan's turn to sigh heavily. He'd been chasing after Marissa Cooper, the girl next door without a whole lot of luck. Maybe Seth was right; maybe it _would_ do him some good to get out for a while. Going against his better judgment he felt himself nodding.

"All right, man, I'm game. Let's go," he finally relented.

"_Yes_!" Seth crowed happily. "You won't regret this, I promise," he insisted enthusiastically.

"Well, I don't know about that," Ryan said skeptically, a smile tugging at his mouth despite his protest.

The party was loud and in full swing by the time Ryan and Seth showed up. Seth scanned the room, quickly zeroing in on Summer Roberts, his longtime crush. His eyes lit up and he grinned broadly, staring at her longingly. Ryan, noticing Seth's look of desperation, flashed him a knowing smile.

"Uh, I need to…to go…" Seth babbled, his eyes darting back and forth between Ryan and Summer.

"Yeah, sure. I'll catch up with you later," Ryan said. Seth patted him on the back before heading over to Summer, trying to appear calm and unflustered even though he was the exact opposite. She was talking to some girls in their class. He cleared his throat, watching her hopefully as she stared blankly up at him, waiting for him to leave as quickly as he'd arrived.

"Hi, Summer. Remember me? Seth. Seth Cohen," Seth rambled, the words rapidly spilling from his mouth. He felt his face warm under her disinterested gaze.

"Uh, yeah, hi, Sean," she muttered, coming dangerously close to rolling her eyes.

"It's Seth," he said, flashing her a weak smile.

"Sure, whatever," she agreed, returning her attention to the girls flocked around her. Seth sighed, realizing that Summer wasn't going to talk to him, let alone remember his first name. Feeling defeated, he went off in search of Ryan. He just desperately wanted to go home and put this night far, far behind him.

Half an hour later, Seth still hadn't found Ryan in the growing throng of people. He suddenly heard a familiar yell of protest. _Summer_.

"Leave me alone!"

"Ah, come on, baby. You know you want a little of this."

A guy from the water polo team was hovering over Summer, leering at her as he tried to stroke her cheek. Seth quickly intervened, stepping in between the two of them.

"I believe the lady would like to be left alone," Seth growled, pushing at the guy's chest. The guy laughed derisively.

"You got guts, kid, but you really shouldn't touch me if you know what's good for you."

"Yeah? Why's that?" Seth demanded. The guy swiftly pulled back his arm, punching Seth in the face. Ryan entered the room just in time to see Seth slumping heavily in Summer's arms. He rushed to his friend's side.

"Seth! _Seth_!"

"Ow, ow, _OW_!" Seth winced as Ryan put an icepack against his swollen eye. They were in the pool house, hiding out, both wary of facing Sandy and Kirsten. Ryan grimaced in sympathy.

"I knew we shouldn't have gone to that party. So, what're you gonna tell your parents? That you hit a brick wall with your face? Or do I get to look forward to watching you make up another lie right on the spot like you did about the Range Rover? A tough crowd at the Imax theatre? Sure…" Ryan said, his eyes dancing at the memory.

"Wait…? You're not gonna tell them what happened?" Seth asked in amazement.

"No way. We're like brothers now, right? Gotta stick together."

"Yeah…yeah, definitely. Summer's really into me, huh?" Seth asked Ryan, a dopey grin lighting up his face.

"Sure. And maybe one of these days she'll actually remember your name," Ryan agreed, grinning back at Seth.

"It's gonna be great, my friend. Just you wait."

Ryan nodded, feeling that Seth was right. Newport really wasn't that bad. He had a feeling that with time he really would grow to like it here.

**THE END**


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